On May 25, 1961, President John Kennedy declared: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." Over his remaining time in the White House, JFK actively involved himself in space decisions and several times reviewed his decision to go to the Moon, each time concluding that the benefits of being the leader in space outweighed the massive costs of the lunar landing enterprise. The author traces the evolution of JFK's thinking and policy up until his assassination, which brought to an end his reexamination of the program's goal and schedule and his hope to collaborate, rather than compete, with the Soviet Union in going to the Moon. This study, based on extensive research in primary documents and archival interviews with key members of the Kennedy administration, is an examination of John Kennedy's role in sending Americans to the Moon. It is an account of the early years of U.S. space efforts, and of how the actions taken by JFK's administration shaped the course of the U.S. space program over the last 45 years. -- Provided by publisher.Meer lezen...

Prologue: "We should go to the moon" --
Before the White House --
Making the transition --
Getting started --
First decisions --
"There's nothing more important" --
Space plans reviewed --
"A great new American enterprise" --
First steps on the way to the moon --
"I am not that interested in space" --
Early attempts at space cooperation --
To the moon together : pursuit of an illusion? --
Apollo under pressure --
Were changes in the wind? --
John F. Kennedy and the race to the moon.

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While there are many biographies of JFK and accounts of the early years of US space efforts, this book uses primary source material and interviews with key participants to provide a comprehensive account of how the actions taken by JFK's administration have shaped the course of the US space program over the last 45 years.Meer lezen...

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'A comprehensive and insightful retrospect of the conception and early days of Project Apollo. Space aficionados will see immediate parallels between President Kennedy's thought processes and the space policy debates of today.' - Neil Armstrong 'For the inside facts about JFK's instigation of the lunar missions, Logsdon, often seen in documentaries and television news about space, is the definitive authority.' - Booklist '...the background to some of the key technical decisions of Apollo makes for fascinating reading.' - Engineering & TechnologyMeer lezen...